Past The Mind's Eye
by Asphyxiated Lust
Summary: When Quinn's mother has to go away on business, she sends Quinn to stay halfway across the globe in Maxville on exchange, despite her protests. LashOC
1. Line of Fire

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Sky High or anything in the movie.  
**A/N:** Slow start, but the more you review, the quicker you get the next chapter.

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"Exchange?!" The morning cereal Quinn had been shovelling into her mouth came spraying out onto the kitchen bench top. "Exchange?!?" She repeated, after cleaning up the mess she had made.

Quinn's mother bustled about the kitchen, making lunch, answering her phone and dusting. She really was the queen of multitasking, "Well, yes dear. It's the only option I can think of. I'm sorry, but, duty calls."

"Yes… But mum, EXCHANGE?!?! What about Bryce?! Why doesn't _he_ have to go?!" Quinn was on the verge of falling off her stool.

"Because. Harry's mother is nice enough to allow Bryce to stay at their house while I'm overseas, of course I've left her enough money to take care of all the groceries, Bryce _is_ a growing boy after all," She paused for a moment to hand out orders on the telephone, hung up, and resumed talking very animatedly to Quinn, "Besides, I'm not going to let you stay at home by yourself, I mean _really_!" Quinn's mother chuckled to herself as she finished packing a couple apples into the paper bags that sat on the bench.

"Well, why not?! I'm old enough!" Quinn was sure to finish off the cereal in her mouth before she started to talk this time.

"Of course you are dear," replied her mother with false sincerity, "But, there are other factors, such as… how will you get to school?"

"That's an easy one! I won't." Quinn jumped off her seat and strolled over to the kitchen sink to rinse out her bowl.

"Oh no, you won't. You're going to Maxville and that's final," Quinn knew that when her mother used that tone, there really _wasn't_ anymore conversation on the matter.

"Now go up and pack your bags, your plane leaves at 3 tomorrow morning."

Quinn frowned, about to protest why her mother had only told her about this plan of hers 20 hours prior to her leaving, but decided against it as Quinn's mother recommenced talking on the phone and started out of the room.

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Quinn sighed heavily as she trudged upstairs to the spare bedroom closet and dragged out a large suitcase. She dragged it into her room and chucked it onto her bed. She walked over to the wall and took the remote for her air conditioner out of its holder. It was late November and it was already sweltering. Her room was right in the firing line of the sun, making it even hotter than the rest of the house.

Quinn took a long look around. Even though her room was small – so much so that if she were to put any bed larger than a king single into it, there would be barely any room left to walk, and opening her dresser drawers would be completely out of the question, it was still her room. Her overly messy, comfy room. Quinn hated spending more than a couple days away from her room, let alone… '_Come to think of it, mum didn't tell me how long she'd be away'_

Quinn stuck her head out of her door and yelled down the hallway, "Oi mum! How long am I going to be away for?"

Quinn's mum's voice echoed up the stairs, "I'm not sure honey, however long it takes to save the world! You know these things, can't put a time limit on them. I'll let you know when I'm finished via something, letter, phone call, email, whichever is easier at the time!"

"Alright, thanks." Quinn stepped back into her room and rolled over the end of her bed to her stereo.

'_Ah… ear abuse, my saviour.'_ She thought as she scrolled down her iPod for her latest addiction. '_Heh, I can't remember what life was like before mp3 players'_ she thought, smiling to herself as she pulled open several drawers, yanking things out to brutal music.

"Underwear, check. Shorts, check." Quinn started going down a mental check list of things to bring. A sudden though made her stop as she mused out loud. "Wait a minute, if it's summer down here…" Quinn sighed and pulled out a few of the pairs of shorts she had packed and replaced them with her stockpile of hooded jumpers and flannel shirts. Quinn hadn't been packing for more than five minutes when she gave up on deciding which clothes to bring specifically and emptied her pants, shirt and underwear drawer into her suitcase.

She walked into the bathroom next to hers, grabbed her straightener, curling iron and hairdryer, packed them up and shoved them into her bag.

"Hmmm.. that's essentials," she thought aloud, "What else?"

Quinn jogged back into the bathroom, grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste, and placed them into her cosmetics bag, along with her makeup. She put that into her messenger bag along with her iPod charger, phone plus charger a couple of reading books and a sketch pad. Quinn opened her bedside drawer, pulling out a wad of cash hidden in there. She made a mental note to change the money to American dollars as she stowed it away into the front pocket of her bag.

She chucked her suitcase and bag onto the floor jumped onto her bed, laying her head back on her arms. Quinn felt the cool air move across the room and her overheated body as she took in her last day spent in her treasured room for what could be months.

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A family friend teleported Quinn and her mother to the airport that next morning. Quinn bid them both goodbyes after her mother handed her a credit card. "Essential things only, okay? Or else I'll cancel it." Quinn laughed in agreement and made her way to the terminal to board the plane.

She sat down in her seat, putting her headphones on, and glanced out the window. It was only a matter of time before the plane started to taxi down the runway. Quinn took a deep mouthful of air and muttered under her breath, "Sky High, here I come."


	2. Chills and Sunday Thrills

**Disclaimer:** You know I don't own Sky High as matters that go along with it – Characters, settings etc. However characters created by me I **do** own. Please don't take my hard work without permission.

**A/N:** I swear the next chapter will actually get into it. Slow start and the lack of description is all there for a reason, not me being lazy.

To people that reviewed, thank you so much. It was greatly appreciated. Same deal, the more you review, the quicker you get the chapter. D

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Quinn stepped off the plane and was greeted by a harsh chill that stood her hairs on end. She donned her old flannel shirt, which was a little worse for wear, but still extremely comfortable and warm, which is why Quinn continued to wear it. '_One day it'll come back into fashion,'_ she laughed to herself as she hoisted her messenger bag back onto her shoulder and walked into the terminal. 

She made it to the carousel and after what seemed like forever, got her suitcase off. It seemed a great deal heavier than what she remembered, but she assumed the fifteen hour non-stop flight had taken its toll on her muscles, or lack thereof.

It was extremely early morning, and Quinn could already feel the jetlag sinking in. She rested all her weight on the trolley that was holding her luggage and dragged her feet behind on her way to the exit of Maxville Airport.

Quinn was greeted by a middle aged man with a boyish look about him. He had a gingery coloured moustache that gave him an almost comical look. He held a sign that read Ms. Everett in bolded letters. "Ah, you must be Shanae's daughter. I'm Mister Boy." He held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you," she replied as she took it, smiling awkwardly.

He gestured for her to follow her out to his car. Quinn sniggered to herself as she caught sight of a bright blue Volkswagen Beetle.

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The ride into the suburbs was filled in an uncomfortable silence, so it was a great relief when Mr Boy started to slow and finally pulled up in front of a small two-storey house with a freshly mowed lawn. It looked too perfect to be real – the whitewash of the walls and the lush, kept garden.

A sudden thought popped up in her head and caused alarm. "Wait, I'm not staying with _you_ am I?"

Mr. Boy chuckled. "Oh no, Quinn, no." He pulled the keys out of the ignition and hopped out, making his way to the trunk of the car. Quinn stepped out of the car and followed.

"No, your... Shanae owns this place, the bus stop is only two blocks away, and there are shops a ten or fifteen minute walk away..."

"Haha, funny, but really, where am I staying."

"Right here! She thought it would be better for you to stay here on your own rather than 'place the burden on someone else' I believe her exact words were."

Quinn looked confounded. "So let me get this straight. My mum won't let me stay home in Australia, but she's perfectly content in letting me stay alone in an unknown country."

"Well, yes. She's a strange woman, your mother. Although, there will be the odd person dropping in to make sure you're doing fine, keeping the house clean and likewise."

Quinn just shook her head. _'Right. Strange woman.'_

She attempted to pick up her suitcase to no avail before standing aside to let Mr. Boy attempt to move it, without much success. But still, not much was better than none, so she moved ahead of him to open the door.

When Quinn drank in the sight that befell her, she couldn't help but think that at one point her mother's secret identity job would have had to have been a multimillion dollar playboy bunny to be able to afford this. She winced at the imagery that appeared in her head and quickly shook it off to help Mr. Boy, whose spacing logic seemed to be on the fritz at that moment, manoeuvre the suitcase through the door frame.

After many strenuous moments of repositioning, they got it through. "Well, are you going to be fine here?"

Quinn nodded and thanked Mr. Boy for his help.

"Ah, yes, well, Shan- Your mother told me she'd call you tonight. If there's any trouble, any trouble at all, my number is by the phone in the kitchen."

They said their goodbyes and Quinn was left to wearily lug her suitcase upstairs. She took a look in all of the rooms, and instead of choosing the largest, master bedroom, she opted for one of the smaller rooms, still double the size of her one back at home, but it felt in the least, like home. Quinn was too overridden with fatigue to unpack her bag, so she crawled under the thick quilt and was asleep within a heartbeat.

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Sunlight streamed into the bedroom through the frost-crystallised windows. From under the white covers, a figure stirred. Quinn felt the pinch of the cold day settle on her skin as she threw back the covers. She pulled on some socks and her shirt lying on the floor and started unpacking.

A loud grumble came from Quinn's stomach and she realised how long it had been since she last ate. _'Might as well go get something for lunch...'_ Quinn rummaged through the remains of her luggage and pulled out a clean pair of jeans, long sleeved baseball shirt and an overcoat. After she was changed, she grabbed her messenger bag, unloading a few of the things in it and walked downstairs, chucking her dirty clothes into the laundry room for cleaning after.

She made for the icy outside, locking the door behind her.

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'_Gotta love takeaway food'_ Quinn thought as she started to dig in to the takeaway Chinese food she'd purchased earlier that day. She was startled by the sudden shrill ring of the phone. Quinn got up and hurried to the phone to answer it. Her mother's voice greeted her on the other side.

"Hey mum. Yes... No... Nah... Yes it's all good."

"Okay, well... You start tomorrow morning, make sure you wake up on time. Everything's all set for your day.

"Ah, sorry honey, I have to go now! Urgent business to attend to! I'll call to check up on you later. Love you!"

"Bye mum." Quinn hung up the phone and went back to her table to finish eating and contemplate the perils of starting school all over again.


	3. Welcome to Hell

**Disclaimer:** Don't own any of the Sky High characters/Settings/etc.

**A/N:** Sorry it took me so long to update, I had a little writer's block. Also I was trying to develop plots for two other SH fanfics I'm planning on doing. Thanks for all your reviews. They make me happy and keep me writing.  
Enjoy!  
Review againnn pleasseeee!!!

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_The one thing that you had to know about Quinn Marie Everett is that she rarely refrained from using her powers ever since she first obtained them. It had become so much a part of her life, even her sub conscious mind kept up the illusion in her sleep. Like many other super powered beings, Quinn could not use her powers to affect herself, which proved to be a constant dilemma in many aspects. _

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She arose early the next morning. Quinn hoped that having a shower would wake her from the stupor that still hung around courtesy of the distant time zones. She stared at the mirror and the figure that reflected back at her, for a split second it might have seemed as though the image before her flickered, but Quinn didn't seem to notice. She walked over to the shower and turned on the hot water as far as it could go, adding only a little cold water so the temperature was just short of scolding. It took Quinn several minutes to get through the shower screen door as the clouding around her brain was affecting her basic motor skills. She accidently misjudged the distance between her arm and the wall and she stepped in and whacked it rather forcefully. Quinn winced, "What a great start," she sighed aloud.

Quinn wasn't used to wearing whatever she wanted to school. The occasional free dress day occurred for, as the schools claimed, fundraising purposes, but majority of her time was spent in the same attire as every single other person walking around. Nevertheless, she didn't spend twenty minutes picking out her shirt alone, chuckling as she remembered some of the people that went to her school back in Australia. '_How materialistic'_ Quinn sighed. She made her way downstairs, packed her bag with a couple notebooks, some pens and some lunch and made set outside to wait for the bus.

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The flying bus ride was a new experience for Quinn. She was mostly used to taking a boat out to the middle of the sea to get to her school, so when the bus suddenly went of road and took off into the air, it was quite a shock.

After her lunch finally decided to settle back down in her stomach, she realised she was standing in the middle of a courtyard. Quinn gasped at the awe-inspiring sight that lay before her. She turned around and noticed the clouds that were significantly lower than the plateau she currently stood on. Quinn took in every little detail on her way, up the steps and into the building. She followed various signs until she found her way to the principal's office. "Principal Powers," she read the plaque beside the door before knocking loudly on the door. An authoritative voice called from inside, "It's open." Quinn pushed the door open and peeked inside. She was immediately thrown back by the blinding white of the principal's office. "Quinn Everett is it?" inquired the kind looking woman. Her voice didn't match her face; it seemed too stern for a woman of her visage. "Uh... Yes, Principal Powers."

"Come in, come in." She motioned to Quinn who was still standing by the doorway, her eyes still taking time to adjust from being thrust into a seemingly endless realm of white.

"Ah, yes, well. Mrs. Everett and I had a very long talk on the phone, lovely woman, and we're _really_ quite glad to have you here."

"Uhh... thanks." Quinn smiled awkwardly and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She felt there was something about this woman that didn't seem right, but shook the feeling off and tuned back into what Principal Powers was saying. "-nd I'm sure you'll do fine here, not that much different from your school back in... Australia, is it? Yes, yes, but of course I'm going to have to re-determine your power placement because the system here is quite different than to what you're used to."

Principal Powers went on to explain the structure of the school and all the subject differences that went with both respective tracks.

Quinn nodded along to what the woman said, adding an occasional "Yeah.", "No, we didn't have that." and "Of course" along the way. "So, Ms Everett, what can you do?"

Quinn snapped out of her daze and spoke nervously as she didn't particularly like having to prove herself to other people. "Uh, I can alter people's perceptions."

Principal Powers chuckled, "How impressive!"

Quinn shook her head, "Not really, it just sounds like an impressive power, I can only really do this," She honed all her energy and delved into the Principal's mind. To any commoner walking into the room that the two both occupied, one would have seen an average built girl sitting across from the gleaming Principal of a school in the sky. But from Principal Powers' point of view, she was the only one in the room.

"Astonishing, what else can you do?"

"Well, something big scale like making a whole person disappear or changing the scenery I can only use on one person at a time, but minor things like" she stared at an empty spot on Principal Powers' desk and immediately the principal saw a pencil materialise and start dancing.

The older woman reached out to grab it but her hand went straight through it and the mirage vanished almost instantaneously.

"Lovely, well, I think you'll cope just fine in hero classes," she rummaged under the papers on her desk and pulled out a slip of paper. "Ah, here it is. Your timetable, you classes will start with superhero history." She handed the paper to Quinn and sat back down. There was a knock at the door, "Come in!" ordered Principal Powers. She turned back to Quinn, gesturing to the person that stood at the door. "Ah, you're here. This will be your escort, if you will. He'll accompany you to your classes, and if you have any problems with direction or anything else, feel free to ask him about it."

'_I don't need a stupid babysitter,'_ thought Quinn as she got up out of her seat, thanking the Principal. She walked past a lanky, shaggy-haired boy standing by the door and stopped to wait for her 'sitter' to finish having a word with the Principal. Her ear caught the end of the conversation, "-etter behave..."

Quinn pulled away, not wanting to eavesdrop, but her curiosity got the better of her and she leaned back in.

"I don't want any more trouble. We agreed that you would do this as your community service rather than get suspended, so I don't want you going back on your word."

Quinn heard a murmur of reply and quickly moved away to rest on the wall next to the door in mock relaxation. Shortly thereafter the door opened and the boy walked out. She nodded at him, "I'm Quinn."

He nodded back, smirk plastered across his boyish face, "My name's Lash, Welcome to hell."


	4. History Class is a Thing of the Past

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Sky High or anything with which it is associated.

**A/N:** I'm so sorry for the lack of updating. I'm doing the holiday thing in Malaysia and the internet decided to be stupid and not work, couple that with all the shopping and writers' block, makes for a long time of non-writability.  
But! I had a sudden whim just as I was going to sleep last night, so I stayed up for 2 extra hours writing this. Hope you enjoy

**Please review it, even if you plan to tell me how bad it is, at least I then know that people are reading my story.  
Speaking of reviews, this is a time to thank Nelle07, who's reviewed all my chapters so far. Makes me feel happy, you know?**

**Thanks, and enjoy!**

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"Lash, huh? Interesting name," Quinn eyed him warily; she wasn't one to trust people so easily. 

Lash frowned, more in concentration than annoyance. He studied her up and down. There was something that seemed off about her, something that Lash couldn't pin point. It wasn't her thick accent of lengthened vowels and unpronounced R's. It wasn't her dark brown hair and thick, messy fringe that seemed as though it should have been causing her a great deal of discomfort, poking her in the eyes, no. Nor her worn red flannel shirt that she had atop a plain black tank. It was something deeper than what met his eye. It gave him the impression that had he not been specially assigned to escort the girl, he felt he would not have noticed her if she'd rammed straight into him, let alone walking about in the halls. "I guess so," Lash replied casually, bluntly adding, "So what's the deal with that accent of yours?"

"Never heard an Australian before then?"  
"Yeh, on Crocodile Dundee and stuff..." he started.

"Seriously though. _No one _sounds like that, just like we don't have kangaroos bouncing around in our backyards, or like how we don't cooking our-" Quinn put her hands up and demonstrated the inverted commas, '-shrimp'-" she put her hands down "on the barby."

He smirked at her. "Nah. I don't believe you." Quinn shook her head, but this gesture went unnoticed by Lash as he'd already started down the hallway. He stopped, turning around when he realised he wasn't being followed.

"Well? Coming or not?"

Quinn had a puzzled look on her face, "Where?" she enquired.

"Class. Come on, I actually have to go to this one," he replied and continued walking. Quinn obligingly followed.

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"Man, your history lessons suck." Quinn said bluntly as she exited the classroom behind Lash. He nodded, turning to her, "Huh. I don't remember it being that boring," he ran a hand through his thick hair, "'course, it's been a while since I last sat in on that subject," he added. "I'm going to guess your history classes are somewhat more..." he looked skyward as he searched for the right word, "bearable?"

Quinn smiled, "_So_ much better." She paused to check her timetable, "Yeah," she continued, face buried in the little slip of paper, "our teacher creates temporal folds in time space, sending us into a momentary rift as astral forms that..." Quinn stopped at the puzzled look on Lash's face. "We go back in time," she summed up for him.

"Ohh. Cool"

The pair stopped outside another room. "English, right?" he asked, looking sideways at Quinn for conformation. She nodded.

"Well, this is where I leave you." Quinn looked momentarily surprised, but in an instant was back to the placidly meek visage she wore so often. "You're not coming?" she asked.

"Nah. I figure I can speak English just fine," he replied. "Have fun though," he added as an afterthought.

Lash gave her a little wave as she pushed the door open and trudged in, relieved to find she wasn't the last person in.

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Quinn opened her locker and threw her books inside. She'd gotten through more than half of the day without incident, which was a relief. Shoving the money that she'd just pulled out of her wallet, Quinn shut the locker door. She leapt back in surprise at the figure standing on the other side of her door. "Hey kid," it spoke, pushing itself up from the lockers it was leaning on.

"Hey Lash," she greeted back, walking past him. He quickly fell into step beside her, "On your way to the cafeteria?" he inquired, with a smirk across his face.

"Yeh. Thanks, but I can find it myself."

"Oh? Absolutely, I'm sure you could! I thought I'd just let you know first, that you're walking in the wrong direction."

Quinn's face flushed as she stopped and started back the way she came. Lash, to her dismay, was still tagging alongside her. They walked into the cafeteria together, as Quinn took in the sight. _'Wow,' _she thought, _'Looks just like the movies.'_

Lash glanced at her, "Careful you don't swallow that fly." Quinn hastily shut her mouth.

"What?" he asked, "You've never seen a cafeteria before?" Quinn shook her head, "We don't have them back home."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, we've got canteens, where you buy food from, but nothing like this."

Lash grinned as he looked around, "Sucks for you." His face brightened a little more, as he found what he was searching for, "Hey, come on." He gestured for Quinn to follow him, but she stayed put, "You can come sit with us this lunch." He continued, pointing to a table where a chubby boy had three trays of food in front of him, gobbling them down.

"Uhh... Thanks, but I think I'll just grab something and take the chance to look around the school. You know, in case you're not there to dog my every movement." She said, smiling.

Lash shrugged, "Suit yourself," he moved to avoid several students, and make his way to the table he'd pointed out before. Lash paused, turning around to face Quinn, "Hey, I'll catch you later." He turned and waved to the boy at the table, yelling, "Hey Speed! Did 'ya save me a pudding?"

Quinn grabbed a drink and walked out of the cafeteria to explore her new school for the next days, weeks or possibly months.

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She walked down the hallways that were deserted; save for a couple kids that seemed to be making their way to the cafeteria. She thought she heard a couple kids yelling, "Fight!" around, but chose to ignore it. She had had enough experience of those back at home. Quinn wandered across the deafly silent hallways, attempting to commit all the classroom numbers and their positions to memory. She skulled what was left of her drink and started a new search for a trash can. _'The cleanliness of this school is surprising'_ she thought, _'considering the lack of bins around.'_ She spotted one just as the thought vanished from her mind, and started towards it, recognizing the area, immediately. _'At least I remember __**something**__'_ she mused somewhat bitterly, as she threw the empty bottle into the bin.

Quinn's ears pricked up at the sudden noise she heard. It sounded like a fist banging on a desk. A line crinkled between Quinn's eyes, as she looked around, searching for the source of the noise, but the hall was still empty. It was then that she noticed a door slightly ajar, bright light spilling out of it. As she moved closer, she could hear muttering coming from inside. Quinn jumped as another fist banged on the table. She edged closer till the murmurings were just audible.

"Why can't we act now?" came a timid voice.

"No! We must not be rash. The plan cannot be ill-timed or it will fail!" The irritated voice belonged to, what Quinn guessed, the one hitting the table. "Too soon and it will lead to suspicion. Too late and-"

She gasped as someone ran past, but took no notice of her. She leaned back in, heart racing, and continued to listen. "Everything is exactly where I want it to be"

"And..." Quinn took a quick look around, thinking she heard footsteps, but all was deserted. She turned back, "...boy?" Quinn heard another thump followed by a tinkling of glass – something seemed to be rolling closer. She saw lights dance and come to a stop close to the other side of the door.

"You know damn well he is set to go!" Quinn frowned, _'What boy?'_ Her thoughts were interrupted by footsteps approaching the door. Quinn panicked and ran, hiding behind the trash can. She concentrated hard; her body flickered for a moment before the parts of her that weren't obscured from sight by the bin disappeared from sight in the minds of the people occupying the room. The door opened the slightest bit more; a hand reached down to pick up the vase that had rolled to the floor.

Quinn heard more thundering – the sounds of someone running; someone coming closer. Her eyes squinted in concentration as she struggled to hide herself from view in another's mind. A tall, gangly boy was running straight towards her. He stopped short, doubled over panting, attempting to catch his breath as he choked out words. "Fight- in- the- caf- e- te- ria." He stopped to cough, and then continued, "Fight- come- quick- Principal- Powers!!" The slender hand clasped round the vase and lifted it up. Quinn could hear the tinkle of glass being set down as Principal Powers walked out, following the boy. Still glowing in bright white light as she disappeared down the hallway.

Quinn let go of the breath she realized she'd been holding. She pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and became conscious of the droplets of cold sweat cascading down her forehead. She stood up and stumbled forward, apparently unaware of how exhausted she actually was. Quinn shut her eyes tightly and shook her head, hoping it would rid her of the grogginess that had a hold of her mind. She staggered forwards and bumped into something, toppling her over. She landed with a thud, her body aching as she opened her heavy eyes.

"Hey Mr. Boy," she smiled weakly as she looked up into the familiar moustached face of her cause of falling. She pushed herself to her feet, knees wobbling. "Hi," he said nervously, with a face to match, "You're not in any of my classes," he said uneasily.

"Uh, I know that." Quinn replied, frowning, "Catch you later..." she said, hurriedly pushing past him and making her way down the hall.

She cast a quick glance over her shoulder, but Mr. Boy had already rounded the corner. _'Weird,'_ she thought, _'It was like he didn't even recognize me'_ Quinn stumbled clumsily on. Above her the school bell rang out, signifying the end of lunch. She heard it, but it seemed so far away. The rumbling of hundreds of shoes exiting the cafeteria joined in. Her eyes felt like lead as her legs gave in. She fell down, waiting for the hard impact. It seemed like forever, but it never came. Quinn felt herself being lifted up by strong arms. She tried to open her eyes to see who it was, but they were too heavy. She made to open her mouth and thank the stranger, but her lips felt as though they had been sewn together, her mouth as dry as parchment. When was the last time she had had a drink?

Quinn tried to remember but couldn't, her mind plagued by something else. Clouding everything she was thinking, everything in her mind as she slowly gave in. She drifted off into dreams of white rooms and blinding light with large bolded words the only thing visible.

'_What boy?'_

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**Btw. My last chapter got like... what? One review?  
I'm hurt! Was is really that bad?  
Make up for the lack of by reviewing the bejesus out of this one?**

** 3**


	5. Study Buddies

**R.I.P.  
Heath  
1979 - 2008  
He will be missed**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**A/N: **It's just a filler chapter, so I don't really care if you review or not, though it would be nice.  
And I just wanted to say, thank you so much for reviewing. I was like.. YAY! everytime I opened my emails and it said new review.  
The next couple chapters will be more intense than this borefest, I promise. I just had to get some time by in the story. Okie doke, enjoy.

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Warm light splashed across Quinn's eyelids, aching to get in and force her muddled mind to wake up. It echoed that last conversation that plagued her dreams. She recalled the exchange of threats towards unknown people and thoughts whirled about in her head. Light breathing reached her ears as a door clicked shut, and she became aware of other people occupying the room. Quinn made to lift her arms, but her muscles were tender with pain. She heard heels click across the room and came to a stop at her side.

"I think she's waking up," came a motherly voice. A chair scratched the floor as it was pushed back and another set of feet shuffled its way to her side. She forced herself to sit up, swinging her legs to the edge of the bed she was lying on. Her head spun and lights danced in the space between her tightly shut eyelids. Quinn heaved her arms up, ignoring the prickling numbness that overcame them, and rubbed her eyes. She held them shut as she pushed herself off the raised platform onto wobbling feet.

She could hear voices in the distance telling her to lie back down, but her mind acted of its own accord. Her mouth, parched like anything, called out for water, but all that came out was a raspy gasp. Quinn wrenched her eyes open, determined to find something to quench her thirst. The light flooded her eyes, blinding her into a stupor as she stumbled forward as her knees buckled. Someone caught her, pulling her up and slipping their arm around her waist. Quinn looked up, squinting, but was unable to see who held her. "W- water," she struggled to speak out, each syllable searing her throat.

"I'll take her, I'm sure she'll be fine," spoke up a familiar voice, "Thanks Nurse."

"Just give her this whenever you can" He reached out and took a small wrapped bar on what looked like chocolate before turning around and leading Quinn out into the hallway. Things slowly began to come into focus, as they walked out. The two arrived at a drink fountain and Quinn propped herself up against it. She bent down and began to drink. No matter how much Quinn drank, it didn't seem to quench her thirst. She stopped eventually, unable to breathe, at which point she looked up into the face of the person who helped her.

"Feeling better?" asked Lash, Quinn smiled and nodded. He handed her a wrapped bar, "the nurse said you needed to eat this,"

Quinn took it, "What is it?" she questioned, peeling back the silver foil covering to reveal a small chocolate bar inside.

"She said it's a special mix... or something like that. Something about it making everything go away?" Quinn took a bite out if it and immediately felt a curious sensation of cold washing over her before all her aches disintegrate into nothing.

"Thanks Lash. Um, do you know what happened?" She gazed up into his deep eyes, and saw a flicker of concern that was gone in an instant, "I mean... Do you know why I passed out?"

He frowned as he pondered the question, "I really have no idea. You were out of it by the time I got you to the infirmary. I never got time to ask."

Quinn bit her lip, determined to recall what had happened, but couldn't sort out her thoughts through the swirling cloud of uncertainty that occupied her mind. She lifted her head, and rushed to follow Lash down the hall which he had already started down, confusion etched across her features.

-----------------------------------------------------

Quinn shifted in her seat, sending prickling discomfort through her legs. She bit her lip concentrating on keeping as still as she could, as not to aggravate the tickling sensation that had momentarily paused at her toes.

"-nd you can all pair up to do the assignment, which I expect on my desk no later than four days from now. Three, for you and your unfortunate counterpart, Mr. Lash." Quinn heard a snicker come from behind her. She hadn't realised he'd been sitting there all that time. In fact, Quinn could barely recall what class she was in; the past day had gone by like a blur.

She looked up and attempted to stay focused on the monotonous voice of the short, balding man speaking up the front of the classroom.

"Now I'm hoping for all of you to blow me away with these speeches of yours. After all, as many people commonly say; 'Speeches make the hero'." He summed up just as the bell rang. Around her, students bustled about to clear up their things as the ruddy little raised his voice to be heard over it all.

"I'll be expecting a short plan of it by tomorrow's class for me to glance over."

Quinn threw her bag across her shoulder and walked out of the classroom. A hand grasped her shoulder, just as she made it through the door, and she spun her head around hastily. Quinn sighed as she realised the hand belonged, not to the teacher, but to Lash. "Partner?"

He fell into step along side her as she made for the cafeteria, "What was he talking about; Unfortunate counterpart'?" she reiterated what the English teacher had directed at Lash.

"What? Oh... Nothing, just, uh, an inside joke. He's such a joker, can't you see?" He chuckled with a smirk on his face. Quinn would have raised an eyebrow, had she been able to, but instead opted to raised both, rather than look like a fool, which proved to be just as effective.

"Oh come on! Pleaseeeeee," he begged, hands clasped together, "Please be my study buddy?"

Quinn sighed, "Alright, but don't expect me to do all the work."

Lash grinned at her, "Wouldn't dream of it," he assured her, yet somehow, she didn't believe him.

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A large yellow bus was waiting by the foot of the school as students poured out of the large white building. A dark haired girl in an overly large flannel shirt despite the heat of the day inconspicuously wove her way through the crowd towards the buses. Her face was flushed pink, yet she still refused to take it off. Quinn boarded the bus and made her way to the back, where she threw herself onto a seat and looked out the window.

She jumped at the shift of weight on the seat next her as someone sat down. Startled, she turned to see who had decided to join her. "You take this bus?" she asked.

"I do since you do!" Lash answered beaming.

"What are you talking about?"  
"Come on, study buddy. I go to yours tonight, you come to mine tomorrow. We're finished two days earlier!"

"One day, actually, you have to hand it in earlier than everyone else." She corrected him.

"You mean **we**.** We**have to hand it in earlier."

"Ugh." Accepting defeat, she shook her head with a sigh and gazed out the window at the moving scenery as they descended to solid ground.

Lash followed Quinn off the bus, not looking back as it sped away towards the next bus stop. They walked past the perfectly trimmed grass on the lawns of the large white houses, each one just as identical as the last. At last they slowed at a much smaller, but still quite as beautiful house and Quinn turned sharply into the driveway. She walked to the fence gate that led to the backyard, unlocking the hefty padlock, and locking it back after Lash walked through the gate. He spoke up, "You don't use the front door?"

Quinn chuckled, "Nah, force of habit." Lash nodded as he tailed her to the backdoor and watched her release another set of bolts. "What are you so worried about?" he joked.

"Are you serious? As if i put all these here," she threw her set of keys and bag down on the kitchen counter top, "My mum's paranoid." She added, wrenching the door to her refrigerator open, perhaps a little more zealously than needed. The bottles inside the door rattled and Quinn swivelled her head around, "Soft drink?" she asked him.

Lash was puzzled, "Huh?" Quinn sighed, "Fizzy drink? Soda? Carbonated drink?" she asked again.

"Oh! Yeh, sure."

She pulled a couple bottles out and threw one to him. "Thanks," he said, as she picked up an apple & her messenger bag and gestured for him to follow her into the living room. It was painted a warm orange, and had pale, ivory sofas surrounding a glass table. Lash was immediately reminded of a Moroccan scene from a movie he had once seen. He smiled as threw himself onto one of the seats and Quinn lowered herself to the floor next to his feet. She pulled her notebook and pens out of her bag and placed them on the table.

"Alright. Speeches, speeches, speeches." Her head flopped back against the seat cushion to face the ceiling. She lolled it to the side and looked up at Lash. He felt laugh coming on at her comical position, but suppressed it. "Any ideas?" Quinn asked him.

Lash shook his head, "I don't know. How about starting with... _'You'll never get away with this, fiend!'_" He mimicked the cliché deep tone of all those TV superheroes. Quinn giggled, adding, "Oh! And, _'No matter what, Justice will prevail!'_" Lash laughed loudly, and soon the two found themselves clutching their stomachs in a fit of hilarity, unable to stop.


	6. Notice

**Attention!**

This story will be coming off its unofficial hiatus pretty soon, so fear not!

I haven't had much time to myself for a very long time so no chance to update, and to be frank, I actually forgot about this for a little while in between (sorry)

As for the chapters you may or may not notice are missing, I've decided that I don't like the direction in which I was sending this story (I hadn't fully thought it through and reading it back, I realise how stupid it sounds)

New chapters (hopefully much better than the ones that were there before) will be put up soon, so please stay tuned.

Until then, aufwiederzehn!


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